Planning commission approves special-use permit for biochar facility near Delano

The Tulare County Planning Commission voted to conditionally approve Special Use Permit PSP25-033 for a biochar facility proposed near Delano, approving a categorical exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the county zoning conditions. The motion passed 6–0 with one commissioner absent.

The project site is at 2115 Road 144, about two miles north of County Line Road and roughly a half-mile east of State Route 99, on a 39.91-acre parcel. The applicant proposes to locate the facility on a 5-acre portion of that parcel. The proposal calls for a roughly 20,000-square-foot metal building, a 6,50[0]-square-foot entry canopy, a 2,500-square-foot receiving canopy and additional pump/guard structures for a total of about 23,150 square feet of covered area as presented by county staff.

Planning staff described the proposal as an installation of three continuous slow-pyrolysis reactors to manufacture biochar from almond shell byproduct produced at the adjacent Treehouse Almonds huller and from contracted regional shellers. The applicant and staff said the process will be largely self-sustaining, using process gases for heat and needing minimal external electricity and water. Emily Gage, project planner with the Tulare County Resource Management Agency, summarized the system and said the county is using the CEQA Guidelines Class 29 exemption for cogeneration equipment at existing facilities (Title 14, California Code of Regulations §15329) in recommending the categorical exemption.

The presentation included operating and emissions-control details provided to the commission and public. Staff and the applicant said the proposal includes integrated wet scrubbers and baghouses for particulate and gaseous controls; the presentation stated anticipated emissions "are not expected to adversely affect compliance with applicable San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District or California Air Resources Board requirements," and that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidance would not require Clean Air Act permitting for this design as presented.

Applicant Mayo Ryan, who identified himself as CEO of the Sitos Group, answered public and commissioner questions about the technology and feedstocks. Ryan said the company focuses on intentionally produced biochar for soil applications rather than primarily generating power, and described experience with pilot operations. He said the three reactors are expected to process roughly 26,000 tons of organic material per year (primarily almond shell), producing about 8,000 tons of biochar annually. Ryan told commissioners, "For every 1 ton of biochar, CTOS can remove approximately 2.5 tons of carbon from the atmosphere," a statement included in the project's supporting materials.

Staff outlined operational resource use: during operations each reactor may use up to 40 gallons per hour of water for temperature control and quenching, with on-site storage proposed to be a 5,000-gallon tank; maintenance-restarter propane use was estimated at roughly 2,028 gallons per year across the three units given the project's assumptions. The applicant also said reactors would typically run about 8,000 hours per year with periodic one-day shutdowns for inspection and maintenance.

After public questions and discussion, Commissioner Wayne Millies moved to approve the categorical exemption consistent with CEQA Guidelines §15329 and to conditionally approve Special Use Permit PSP25-033; the motion was seconded, and the commission voted 6–0 with one absence.

The commission’s approval is a land-use entitlement; any required permits related to air quality, building, fire, and environmental health will be enforced during permit issuance and as conditions of approval. The applicant and staff said they had received no public comments for or against the project during the posted notice period.

Proponents and county staff characterized the project as supporting agricultural reuse of shell waste, generating a soil amendment for vineyards and orchards, and producing renewable energy and carbon removal certificates; opponents did not appear at the hearing to register objections.

The planning commission’s action moves the project forward to the county permitting and compliance stage required by the conditions attached to the special-use permit.